Sparking apparatus for gasolene-engines.



Patented May l3, I902- .1. w. sumo"; SPARKING APPARATUS FOR GA'SDLENE ENGINES.

(Application filed Aug. 28, 1901.)

(No Model.)

R an

l F l I llllllll' UN TEnvST Tn-s PATENT JOHN w. STANTON, on PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR or one HALF To JOSEBIIDI FITTS, or PRO'VIDENOE'RHODE ISLAND.

SPARKING APPARATUS FOR GASOLENE-ENGINES.[

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 700,100, dated May 13, 1902.

1 Application filed August 26,1 901- Serial to. 73,390. (No modelll To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1,..J OHN W. STANTON, a citizen of the United States,=residing at Providence, in the countyfof Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Sparking Apparatus for Gasolene-Engines, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a View of the same, partly in elevation and partly in central longitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a view of the clamping device as seen on line 00 x of Fig. 2.

My invention relates to electrical attachments for gasolene-engines and means of adjustment of such attachments which constitute the sparking apparatus for the ignition of the volume of compressed air and gasolenevapor in the cylinder of such engine; and it consists of the novel construction andcombination of the several parts, as hereinafter particularly described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, A is a metallic cylindrical rod having at one end the concentric screwthreaded spindle or projection A andat the opposite end the cylindrical head A which is slotted, as seen in Fig. 1. An electrode B, preferably made of a thin strip of spring-steel or other suitable flexible metal adapted to conduct electricity, has one end inserted in said slot of the head A of the rod A and is fastened in position by the screw 0, which passes through a transverse hole tapped for that purpose in said head and through a hole in said end of the electrode B.

The rod A is loosely mounted in the barrel D, which atone end is reduced in diameter and provided with an exterior screw-thread, as indicated at D. About midway within the hereof the barrel D ,is a partition D which has a central aperture through which therod A slides loosely. The bore of-the barrel D is thus divided into two compartments, one of which constitutes the stuffingbox. In this stuffing-box is the packing E, surrounding the rod A.

F is the gland or packing-ring, having an annular flange through which the screws G pass into the barrel D to fasten it thereto.

A ring II has an inwardly-extending shoulder or flange II, which underlies a portion of the edge of the annular flange of the packingring F.

There are twoclamps I I, each having a semicircular center and plane meeting sur faces a, and the circular aperture thus formed,

asseen in Fig. 3, is of a diameter to exactly receiveand tightly hold the rod A. The clamp I has the oppositely-extending arms I I and the clamp. I has the oppositelyextending arms I and 1 Each of the arms I I has a smooth round; hole therein, and each of the in said ring, which hole is reamedout on the lowersurface of the ring. Said lower end of the guide-rodK is riveted in the reamed portion of said hole in the ring, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The opposite end of the guide-rod K is provided with a screw-thread, and a thumb-nut L engages therewith, the lower surface of said nut bearing against the upper surface of the clamp-arms.

A guide-rod M has an annular shoulder c,

which rests against the upper surface of the ring H, and the lower end of said guide-rod M,having there a less diameter,passesthrough a hole in said ring, whichhole is reamed out on the lower surface of the ring. This lower end of theguide-rod M is riveted in the reamed portion of said hole in the ring, as

illustrated in Fig. 2. The opposite end of the guide-rod M is provided with a screw-thread, and a thumb-nut N engages therewith, the

lower surface'of said nut bearing against the 5 upper surface of the clamp-arms.

A spiral spring 0 surrounds the rod A and has one end bearing against the inner surfaces of the clamps I and I and its opposite end bearing against the packing-ring F.

P is an oscillating shaft having suitable mountings. (Not shown.) An electrode or sparking-pin Q, projecting from the shaft I, extends past the outer end of the electrode 13 and is adapted to come into contact with said end of the electrode B to deflect the same and then to slip oif from it.

On the upper end of the screw-threaded projection A of the red A a thumb-nut R is engaged, and between the lower end of said nut and the upper surface of the clamps I and I an electric wire S is secured in position.

This apparatus is fastened to the explosionchamber on the head of the cylinder of the gasolene-engine (not shown) by means of the threaded portion D of the barrel D, which screws into a threaded opening in said chamber. The shaft P is oscillated by the usual means, and thus the sparking-pin Q is periodically brought into contact with the free end of the spring-electrode B, which it bends until by the continued movement of the shaft P it slips off. In this manner the electric circuit is made and broken at the proper intervals, as is well known in the use of gasoleneengines, such circuit being formed by a battery, an electric wire connected to the explosion-chamber of the cylinder, (said battery and wire, however, not being shown in the drawings,) together with the shaft P and sparking-pin Q in combination with the electric wire S, clampsI 1, red A, and electrode B.

My present invention relates particularly to means for adjusting the electrode B in relation to the electrode Q.

By an examination of the drawings it will be perceived that the clamping-pieces I I when fastened together by means of the screws J and J constitute a cross-bar and firmly embrace the red A, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and their arms I and I on one side and their arms I and 1 on the opposite side come into loose contact with the guide-rods K and M, respectively. Thus the clampingpieces I I with the rod A (which they embrace, so that the red A and clamping-pieces I I are compelled to move together) are adapted to travel together down upon the guide-rods K and M when so moved by the manipulation of the thumb-nuts L and N when said nuts are screwed down upon the guide-rods K and M. In this downward travel the spiral spring 0 is compressed. \Vhen the thumb nuts L and N are unscrewed, (or moved outwardly,) the upward movement of the clamping-pieces I and I is caused by the expansion of the spiral spring 0, as the pressure on the same is released by the reverse turning of the nuts L and N. By these means it is possible to exactly adjust the distance of the overlapping of the free end of the electrode B upon the end of the sparking-pin Q, as seen in Fig. 1. It is evident that when the end of the electrode B projects comparatively far beyond the extremity of the sparking-pin Q the electric spark will be produced later than when the end of the electrode B projects a less distance beyond the extremity of the sparking-pin, be-

cause the end of the sparking-pin Q must de'' scribe a longer are of oscillation before the electrode 13 can slip off and disengage therefrom, and it is very desirable and useful thus to regulate the exact time when said electric spark is produced in relation to the movement of the piston-head in the cylinder of the gasolene-engine.

The peculiarity of a gasolene-engine is well known in that the cylinder of such an engine has bntone head, so that on one inward stroke of the piston in the cylinder the gasolene-vapor and atmospheric air are taken into the explosion-chamber as a charge, compressed, and then exploded by an electric spark, and on the next inward stroke'of the piston the combustion-gases are discharged, and so on. Such engines are usually started slowly by hand.

It has hitherto been usual to adjust the electrode in relation to the sparking-pin and then secure them in such position. In this manner the electric spark is always given when the piston-head reaches a certain position in the cylinder, and this is invariable whether the engine is just starting or is under full speed or at any speed. It is therefore diflicult to arbitrarily and permanently fix the precise time and position of the parts to always get the most power from the explosion and yet to start the engine quickly when once it has come to a standstill. It is acommon experience that repeated efforts are required to start the engine. This is due to the fact that in order to get the utmost power from the explosion when the engine is running at full speed the spark must be produced at the instant just before the pistonhead has come to the end of its inward stroke, as the mixed air and gasolene-vapor is then under the greatest pressure when the engine is running at the rate of six or seven revolutions of the fly-wheel per second, and under these conditions the spark must be given when the crank-pin is at the distance of a fifth (more or less) of the circumference of its travel from being centered, and even this allows only one-thirtieth to one-fortieth of a second (when the engine is running rapidly) for the spark to be given and the full explosion to take place. If the spark is obtained later than this, the explosion does not occur until after the crank-pin haspassed the deadcenter and the piston-head has thus begun to recede from the head of the cylinder, thereby reducing the pressure of the mixed air and gas, and so diminishing the power derived from the explosion.

Nowinstartingagasolene-enginewhoseclectrodes are adjusted to produce the spark just at this most favorable instant itis practically impossible to revolve the crank by hand as rapidly as it is revolved by the power of the engine when fully running, and therefore if the electrodes have been adjusted to give the spark just before the end of the inward stroke of the piston-head in the cylinder the explosive power caused by the ignition of the gas before the piston-head has finished its inward stroke will when the crank is slowly moved by hand result in the piston-head being forced back and prevented from finishing its inward stroke. The practical result, therefore, is that'toenable the starting of the engine by hand at all the electrodes must be so adjusted thatthe spark is given just after the crank-pin has passed the dead-center, or, in other words, just after the piston-head has begun its outward movement, thereby reducing the gas-pressure and giving the spark to a volume of gas whose pressure is rapidly decreasing instead of to a volume of gas whose pressure is rapidly increasing.

The utility and importance is apparent of providing adjusting means whereby when the engine is running at full speed the explosion may be effected at the precise instant when the mixed air and gasolene-vapor are in their most compressed condition and the force of the explosion can be given to the piston-head at theprecise instant when it is ready to begin its outward stroke, and yet when the engine is not running it can be immediately and without any repeated attempts put into operation by giving the explosive spark just after the piston-head has begun its outward stroke. This desirable result is easily accomplished by my improved apparatus. By screwing or unscrewing the thumb-nuts L and N the end of the electrode B in its relation to the sparking-pin Q is adjusted as may be as the rotation of the shaft P causes the pin' Q to clear from the electrode B more slowly the production of the spark is delayed until the piston-head has'begun to descend in the cylinder, and consequently the force of the explosion accelerates the downward movement of the piston-head; but when the electrode B is adjusted so that it is just engageable by the extreme tip of the pin Q merely for an instant the spark is quickly given at the precise time when the full force of the explosion can be most, advantageously used, as has already been explained. Moreover, when the engine is running fast the cylinder-head be= comes very hot by the frequency of the explosions, and in consequence the electrodes become-hot also and sometimes expand and elongate, thereby being thrown out of adjustment. In such cases in order to remedy this it'has been necessary to stop the engine, remove and readjust the electrodes; but by the use of'my adjusting device this readjustment'may'be done'instantly and while the engine is running atf'ull speed and without stopping its operation at all.

I claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a sparkingapparatus for a gasoleneengine, the combination of a properly-mount- .ed oscillating shaft having asparking-pin projecting therefrom,an electrode-bar mounted and longitudinally movable on a fixed support, means adapted to move said electrode longitudinally to the sparking-pin, and a spring adapted to be compressed by said l'ongitudinal movement of the electrode and to move automatically the electrode longitudinally away from the sparking-pin when said spring is relieved from said compression, substantially as described.

2. In a sparking apparatus for a gasoleneengine, the combination of a properly-mounted oscillating shaft having a sparking-pin projecting therefrom ,an electrode-bar mounted and longitudinally movable on a fixed support, a cross-bar secured to the electrode-bar at a right angle and movable therewith, a support on which said cross-bar is movable, and a spiral spring surrounding the electrodebar and having one end thereof bearing against said fixed support and the opposite end bearing against said cross-bar, substantially as set forth.

3. In a sparking apparatus for a gasoleneengine, the combination of a properly-mounted oscillating shaft having a sparking pin projecting therefrom,an electrode-bar mounted and longitudinally movable on a fixed support, two parallel clamping-pieces adapted to embrace the outer end of the electrode-bar, I

two screw-threaded rods extending from a fixed support parallel with each other and with the electrode-bar, a thumb-nut engageable with each of said rods at the screw-threaded end thereof and having its inner end in contact with the edges of the clamping-pieces and a spiral spring surrounding the electrodebar and having one end bearing against the first-named fixed support and the opposite end bearing against said clamping-pieces, substantially as specified.

4:. In a sparking apparatus for a gasoleneengine, the combination of a properly-mounted oscillating shaft having a sparking-pin projecting therefrom,an electrode-bar mounted and longitudinally movable on a fixed support, two clamping-pieces adapted to embrace the outer end of the'electrode-bar and each having two oppositely-extending arms, two screws passing through the adjacent arms of said clamping-pieces, as shown, two screwthreaded guide=rods extending from a fixed support parallel with each other and with said electrode-bar and in loose contact with the adjacent arms of the clamping-pieces respectively, .a thumb -'nut engageable with each of said guide-rods on the screw-threaded end thereof and having its inner end in contact with the edges of the clamping-pieces, and a spiral spring surrounding the electrodebar and having one end bearing against the first-named fixed support and the opposite end bearin g against said clamping-pieces,sub-

stantially'as specified.

projecting therefrom,an electrode-bar mounted and longitudinally movable on a fixed support, two clamping-pieces having when joined a circular aperture wherein the outer end of the electrode-bar is movable, and each of which clamping-pieces has two oppositely-extending arms, two screws passing through the adjacent arms of said clamping-pieces, as shown,two screw-threaded guide-rods extending from a fixed support parallel with each other and with said electrode-bar and in loose contact with the adjacent arms of the clamping-pieces respectively, a thumb-nut engageable with each of said guide-rods on the screwthreaded end thereof and having its inner end in contact with the edges of the clamping-pieces, a spiral spring surrounding the electrode bar and having one end bearing against the first-named fixed support and the opposite end bearing against said clampingpieces, a screw-threaded spindle projecting axially from the outer end of the electrodebar, and a thumb-nut engageable with said spindle and having its inner end in contact with said clam ping-pieces,substan tially as described.

6. The improved sparking apparatus for a gasolene-engine, consisting of the combination of a properly-mounted oscillating shaft having a sparking-pin projecting therefrom, a tubular barrel having a centrally-perforated partition in the bore thereof midway between its ends, a cylindrical bar mounted in said barre] and passing through said perforated partition, a packing surrounding a portion of said cylindrical bar within said barrel, a packing ring in contact with the packing and looselyin contact with the cylindrical bar and having an annular flange covering the upper end of the barrel and projecting slightly beyond the edge thereof, screws passing through said annular flange into said barrel, an electrode mounted in the opposite end of the cylindrical bar and adapted to contact with the sparking-pin, a ring having an annular internal shoulder adapted to contact with the under side of the projecting portion of the flange of the packing-ring and provided with two diametrically opposite reamed holes, two shouldered guide-rods inserted in said holes and having riveted ends therein and provided at their opposite ends with screw-threads, two clamping-pieces having when joined a circular aperture wherein the outer end of the cylindrical bar is mounted and each of which clamping-pieces has two oppositely-extending arms, between which respectively said two guide-rods loosely pass, two screws passing through the adjacent arms of the clampingpieces, a screw-threaded spindle extending axially from the outer end of the cylindrical bar, a thumb-nut engageable with said spindle, a thumb-nut engageable with the screwthreaded end of each of said guide-rods, and a spiral spring surrounding the cylindrical bar and having one end bearing against said packing-ring and the opposite end bearing against said clamping-pieces, substantially as shown and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN V. STANTON.

Witnesses:

EDWARD L. LovEJoY, HOWARD A. LAMPREY. 

